Google Flight Search takes off

I already think there are too many sites, including Fly.com, Kayak.com, CheapoAir.com, and of course the biggees, Orbitz and Expedia. Not to mention all of the airlines, including Southwest, which doesn't appear on any of those aggregate sites. (Google at least acknowledges Southwest and provides a link to the airline's site.)

That hasn't stopped Google from entering the fray. With its purchase in April of ITA Software, which owns proprietary software that powers the online flight searches for several websites, Google is required to continue ITA's relationship with those various sites, but perhaps it still feels it has the advantage. Maybe so.

I haven't had a chance to really put the new search through its paces - check out what The New York Times found when it compared Google's site to Kayak - but what I can see right off the bat is the clean interface. I also liked the bar chart that shows which grouping of days has the lowest airfares. It quickly and visually shows the outsized cost of traveling over Thanksgiving weekend. I alos like the dinky little map with the balloons - click on your destination and Google will show you prices for flights to nearby airports.

Maybe you will give Google Flight Search and let me know what you think.